1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to joining optical fibers directly together, and particularly to joining an optical fiber which has a cladding provided with a plurality of holes.
2. Technical Background
Optical fiber containing holes are being designed and produced for a number of applications. Difficulties arise in splicing such optical fiber to conventional optical fiber or to another optical fiber having a cladding provided with a plurality of holes. For example, core alignment of the optical fibers to be joined is hindered by the presence of the holes in the vicinity of the end to be spliced.